Valentine Pancakes

Just use an empty condiment bottle and some pancake batter—delicious and so yummy! Add strawberries and whip cream for a special touch. (Don’t forget to mix in some love. That’s very important.)

Pillowbox Alligator Valentine

This adorable do-it-yourself valentine can be downloaded for free and filled with candy.

Heart and Lollipop Flowers

A fun and simple gift—perfect for school valentine exchanges!

Crayon Heart Valentines

These gifts are candy-free, adorably sweet and easy to make too!

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

Use a heart shape for fun twist on this decadent treat.

Happy Valentine’s Day from everyone at Sandy Puc’ Portrait Design!

Celebrate the year of the Dragon with these fun crafts and treats! Perfect to share with your little ones.

Thumbprint Dragons
All you need is a few colorful inkpads and blank paper. Embellish with a pen to add eyes, ears, legs and a pointy tail!

Egg Carton Dragon
Use egg cartons, paint, colored paper, tissue paper and shimmery foil to create a sensational Chinese New Year Dragon.

Colorful Fortune Cookies!
Yummy and fun to make your own fortunes too.

Paper Lanterns
These look great with sequin, sticker and glitter embellishments. Use lots of colors and string them across a porch or window!

Happy Chinese New Year! Don’t forget to wear something RED for good luck!

Giving back is something that brings me great joy and fulfillment in my life. It’s nice to know where the money you donate goes. One of my favorite websites is CharityNavigator.org They are one of the largest independent charity rating services in the nation, providing a reliable and secure way to review and donate to your favorite charities. Here’s a great article about making sure your donations count.

Top 10 Best Practices of Savvy Donors

1. Be Proactive In Your Giving 
   Smart givers generally don’t give reactively in a knee-jerk fashion. They don’t respond to the first organization that appeals for help. They take the time to identify which causes are most important to their families and they are specific about the change they want to affect. For example, they don’t just support generic cancer charities, but instead have targeted goals for their giving, such as providing mammograms to at-risk women in their community.
2. Hang Up The Phone / Eliminate The Middleman
   Informed donors recognize that for-profit fundraisers, those often used in charitable telemarketing campaigns, keep 25 to 95 cents of every dollar they collect. Wise donors never give out their personal information – like credit card accounts, social security numbers – over the phone. If they like what they hear in the pitch, they’ll hang up, investigate the charity on-line and send their contribution directly to the charity, thereby cutting out the middleman and ensuring 100% of their donation reaches the charity. To help you investigate charities that solicit you, we include each charity’s contact information on its ratings page.
3. Be Careful Of Sound-Alike Names
   Uninformed donors are easily confused by charities that have strikingly similar names to others. How many of us could tell the difference between an appeal from the Children’s Charity Fund and the Children’s Defense Fund? Their names sound the same, but their performances are vastly different. Would you be surprised to learn that the Children’s Charity Fund is a 0-star charity while the Children’s Defense Fund is a 3-star charity? Informed donors take the time to uncover the difference.
4. Confirm 501(c) (3) Status
   Wise donors don’t drop money into canisters at the checkout counter or hand over cash to solicitors outside the supermarket. Situations like these are irresistible to scam artists who wish to take advantage of your goodwill. Smart givers only support groups granted tax-exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All of the charities evaluated by Charity Navigator meet this basic requirement.
5. 5. Check The Charity’s Commitment To Accountability & Transparency
   In 2011, Charity Navigator added an Accountability & Transparency dimension to its rating system. It tracks metrics such as whether the charity used an objective process to determine their CEO’s salary, whether it has an effective governance structure, and whether it has a whistleblower policy. This data is critical because charities that follow good governance and transparency practices are less likely to engage in unethical or irresponsible activities. So, the risk that such charities would misuse donations is lower than for charities that don’t adopt such practices.
6. Obtain Copies Of Its Financial Records
   Savvy donors know that the financial health of a charity is a strong indicator of the charity’s programmatic performance. They know that in most cause areas, the most efficient charities spend 75% or more of their budget on their programs and services and less than 25% on fundraising and administrative fees. However, they also understand that mid-to-large sized charities do require a strong infrastructure therefore a claim of zero fundraising and/or administrative fees is unlikely at best. They understand that a charity’s ability to sustain its programs over time is just as important as its short-term day-to-day spending practices. Therefore, savvy donors also seek out charities that are able to grow their revenue at least at the rate of inflation, that continue to invest in their programs and that have some money saved for a rainy day. All of this analysis is provided on Charity Navigator’s website for free, but when considering groups not found here, savvy donors ask the charity for copies of its three most recent Forms 990. Not only can the donor examine the charity’s finances, but the charity’s willingness to send the documents is a good way to assess its commitment to transparency.
7. Review Executive Compensation
   Sophisticated donors realize that charities need to pay their top leaders a competitive salary in order to attract and retain the kind of talent needed to run a multi-million dollar organization and produce results. But they also don’t just take the CEO’s compensation at face value; they benchmark it against similar-sized organizations engaged in similar work and located in the same region of the country. To help you make your own decision, Charity Navigator reveals that the average CEO’s compensation of the charities we evaluate is almost $150,000. In general, salaries tend to be higher in the northeast and at arts and education charities. Sophisticated donors also put the CEO’s salary into context by examining the overall performance of the organization. They know it is better to contribute to a charity with a well-paid CEO that is meeting its goals than to support a charity with an underpaid CEO that fails to deliver on its promises.
8. Start A Dialogue To Investigate Its Programmatic Results
   Although it takes some effort on their part to assess a charity’s programmatic impact, donors who are committed to advancing real change believe that it is worth their time. Before they make a contribution, they talk with the charity to learn about its accomplishments, goals and challenges. These donors are prepared to walk away from any charity that is unable or unwilling to participate in this type of conversation.
9. Concentrate Your Giving
   When it comes to financial investments, diversification is the key to reducing risk. The opposite is true for philanthropic investments. If you’ve really taken the time to identify a well-run charity that is engaged in a cause that you are passionate about, you should then feel confident in giving it a donation. Spreading your money among multiple organizations not only results in your mail box filling up with more appeals, it also diminishes the possibility of any of those groups bringing about substantive change as each charity is wasting a percentage of your gift on processing expenses for that gift.
10. Share Your Intentions And Make A Long-Term Commitment
    Smart donors support their favorite charities for the long haul. They see themselves as a partner in the charity’s efforts to bring about change. They know that only with long-term, committed supporters can a charity be successful. And they don’t hesitate to tell the charity of their giving plans so that the organization knows it can rely on the donor and the charity doesn’t have to waste resources and harass the donor by sending numerous solicitations.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=419

He asked the big question and you said YES!

But who should you ask to join you on your big day? Here are some things to consider before you choose your bridesmaids.

http://www.myweddingideas.net

Numbers
Most wedding planners recommend a bridesmaid for every 50 guests in attendance. If you have a small wedding, it might look odd to have four or five bridesmaids next to you. On the other hand, for a big wedding, it might look less formal to only have one maid of honor. Either way, it’s always nice to have a matching number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, so take your fiancé’s expectations into consideration as well.

Etiquette
Once you have a number in mind, be sure you don’t ruffle any feathers. If you have sisters, they should always be included, even if you don’t get along that well. It’s perfectly okay to have your best friend as your maid of honor, but it’s rude to leave family members out of the bridal party.

Reliability
You probably have lots of dear friends that you would love to share your big day with, but keep in mind that you will rely on them for many things—least of all looking polished for pictures and the ceremony, and most of all—moral support. If you have friends that are chronically late, will insist on casual footwear or tend to get excessively tipsy, think twice about including them in your day. (You will regret it.)

The Proposal
You have chosen your special friends who will stand next to you on your big day, but it’s still appropriate to ask them to honor you in this way. After all, it is a big commitment of time and money for them, so a more formal request goes a long way. Consider inviting them all to a special night out, or giving them a personal gift like this one from somethingturquoise.com.

They’ll be sure to say yes!
http://somethingturquoise.com/2011/10/14/diy-will-you-be-my-bridesmaid/

Gifts
While it’s common for bridesmaids to buy their own dresses, it’s a thoughtful gesture to buy their jewelry for the wedding day. You can choose something that coordinates with the dresses, which will also make a great gift for them to remember the occasion.

Use a personalization option to use gemstones that coordinate with your wedding color.

http://personalize.kay.com/kay2.html?s=6108&c=personalized_necklaces_and_pendants&sc=color_stone_pendants

Other Friends
If you couldn’t include everyone you wanted to, don’t forget that there are other ways for them to be involved in your big day. They could do a reading during the ceremony, perform a musical number during the reception, hand out programs, and of course still take part in the bridal shower and bachelorette party.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hopefully these tips will help your wedding day be divine, with your best friends by your side.

Happy planning!

Ace college entrance exams the first time with these easy tips and tricks!

PREPARATION

• Use Collegeboard.org’s SAT daily question email to get one sample test question in your inbox every day. It’s a simple, less overwhelming way to get your brain warmed up for the real thing. It’s also available as an iphone app! http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day

• Take a test prep class. Kaplan offers courses that are tailored to the SAT or the ACT. Check out their website: http://www.kaptest.com/College/SAT/index.html

• Use a tutor to help you target your weakest subject.

TESTING

• Make sure you bring a watch, and don’t linger on one question longer than two or three minutes.

• Answer the easier questions first and go back to answer the hard ones last.

• Use the process of elimination to give yourself better odds on each question. If you know two answers aren’t right, that gives you a 50% chance of getting the right answer instead of only 25%.

• If you have to guess, the answer with the most information is usually correct.

• Never leave an answer blank. You should at least guess one of the options, because leaving it blank guarantees that you get it wrong.

•  If you read the question and come up with the answer before reading the multiple choice options, this will help you avoid getting confused by “all of the above” or “none of the above” type of situations.

• Trust your first instinct—it’s usually correct!

Happy Testing from Sandy Puc’ Portrait Design!

Time Capsule

All you need is a fun container, some stickers or a cool family portrait. Have everyone contribute at least one thing and then seal it up until New Year’s 2012.

http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2010/12/new-years-crafts-activities-treats.html

Fortune Cookies

Celebrate the new year with a few chocolate dipped fortune cookies. Buy them at http://www.cookies.com/festive-confetti-gourmet-fortune-cookies-24-pc.html or your local grocery store and dip them and add sprinkles yourself!

Homemade Party Poppers

http://www.alleventsadviser.com/plan/favors/make-party-poppers/

Just add some new year’s resolutions, some sparklers and champagne (or sparkling cider), and you have a fun New Year’s eve for the whole family!

Happy New Year from everyone at Sandy Puc’ Portrait Design! 

Holiday Gumball Machines

These playful candy-filled displays are a fun craft activity that you can do with your kids. They make a great holiday decoration too! Use a Hannukah- or Christmas-inspired theme by using blue and white or red and green paint and candies.

http://cjaneblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/christmas-craft.html

Frosted Gingerbread and Sugar Cookies
The holidays aren’t complete without these delicious treats. Put some out for Santa if you’re feeling extra nice.

http://valcitygal.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/8th-day-of-christmas-christmas-cookies/

Cute Hanukkah cookies too

http://www.pepperdesignblog.com/?p=2786

For professional results like these, visit http://www.kingarthurflour.com/tips/cookie-decorating-tips.html#1 for cookie decorating tips and tricks.

Handmade Greeting Cards
This collection of holiday cards from Better Homes and Gardens are easy and fun. They are perfect for teachers, colleagues, family and friends!

http://www.bhg.com/christmas/cards/homemade-christmas-cards/#page=1

Peppermint Cream Bites
Cut these heavenly treats with small cookie cutters of any shape.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/bars/peppermint-cream-bites/

Candy Cane Bark
It’s fun to make and is a wonderful gift too! Just wrap in a clear bag and top with some festive ribbon and a gift tag!

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/candy/candy-cane-bark/

Holiday Gift Tags
These gift tags by Martha Stewart can be used for Hanukkah by featuring a dreidel or Star of David instead of holly.

http://www.marthastewart.com/266497/holiday-gift-tags

Happy Holidays from everyone at Sandy Puc’ Portrait Design. We are grateful to be a part of your family’s memories.